Berkhedle wins Peach Belt men’s championship as Clayton State men place close second
Laker women place ninth at Peach Belt Conference championships

EVANS, Ga. - October 20, 2007 – Walid Berkhedle continued his dominating running and the Clayton State Laker men’s cross country made nearly a 180-degree from last season as the Lakers finished a close second on Saturday at the Peach Belt Conference championships at Blanchard Woods Park.

The Lakers finished with 47 points for the event, finishing only six points behind champion Columbus State. In the women’s race, Clayton State struggled to a ninth-place finish with 222 points.

The day, however, belonged to Berkhedle as he became the second Clayton State runner in the last three seasons to win an individual Peach Belt Conference men’s individual championship. The freshman from Ontario won the 8K race in a time of 26:43.36 minutes. He finished 11 seconds ahead of Tim English from Columbus State and 13 seconds in front of UNC-Pembroke’s Giovanni Bilotta and Columbus State’s Stewart Helton.

With his performance, Berkhedle earned both Peach Belt Conference Runner of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors.

In addition to Berkhedle, Anthony Aguilar finished fifth in a time of 27:06.91, followed by Joey Chino finishing seventh in 27:12.13. Aguilar and Chino both joined Berkhedle on the All-Peach Belt Conference team. Au Nguyen finished 12^th in a time of 27:42.49, while Jarrid Casimir placed 29^th in 29:31.88 and Jeremy Adkins rounded out the Clayton State runners in 38^th in 33:28.31.

On the women’s side, Chelsea Ellis was the top Laker finisher in 24^th place in a time of 22:06.06 in the 5K race. Terrica Hamilton finished 45^th in 23:42.00, followed by Jennifer Rhodes finishing 60^th in 25:53.31, Kara Stokes finished 62^nd in 26:14.44, Isabelle Ahanotu placed 65^th in 28:00.53 and Titisha Cochran finished 66^th in 28:22.47.

The Laker men will compete in the NCAA Division II South Regional on Nov. 3 in Huntsville, Ala.